Philly Poem

Walk down the busy streets of Philly 

To the library a few blocks away 

Get at least five books per week

At the playground I 

read while Elio played.

 

Pass, kick, shoot, Score! 

Playing soccer at Capitolo

Few things I love more

 

Hungry! Me and Elio say

Surprise! Going to P’unk Burger

Hooray! Hooray!  

 

The delicious cheesy burger

A gluten free bun

Fries covered in Vinegar

Oh foodie fun 

 

And my house, oh how I love my house

My awesome bedroom with biggest bed

Basement playroom, messy as ever

TV ready for Friday movie night

 

In June on a special day

Go to the Pride Parade

Been Out and Proud 

Since 3rd grade

 

Bright Rainbows make me feel Glad 

that I am safe and supported here 

 

I love Philly, 

Silly

City of

Gritty

 

Home Poem

Home

 

Warm sugar cookies that my Grandmom prepares.

I love to look, I love to stare.

She always told me not to share 

What has been in her generations for years.

My Mom is sick with a cold. But she’s so bold,

We would not even know if she hadn’t told.

My Dad is kind, my Dad is nice, 

And he never shot down a game of dice.

My little sister is sleeping.

She is so peaceful, she doesn’t notice me peeking.

I can’t escape it, these feelings of home, 

But really, life is unknown.

 

Blue Sky

Blue sky at my house

Green grass near by the black road

The cat is orange

 

Problems

With all these problems in the world,

we need someone to make a twirl.

 

With our ozone layer tearing it apart,

we need people that have a heart.

 

Our ocean is polluted, filled with trash,

we need to empty it by using our cash.

 

With these problems, our earth could burn,

so we need to stop and take a turn.

 

But there are other problems beside the weather,

our world in general is tearing apart like paper in a shredder.

 

People are killing, robbing, and have no hope,

but we need to come together like a knot on a rope.

 

We need to love, we don’t need to hate,

you don’t need to hate, but rather appreciate.

 

Our world is filled with war, hate, and sadness,

when it should be peaceful, lovely, and filled with happiness.

 

All we need to do is love together,

so we all can become brothers and sisters.

 

Unwanted

Unwanted

By Grace Heinold

 

I am not good enough

I will not believe

That I am perfect just the way I am

Because the fact is

I am unwanted

I won’t listen to the people who say

It’s ok

When everything is turning on me I will remember

It’s all my fault

I can’t listen to people who think

I’m beautiful

When I look in the mirror I know

I’m worthless

I don’t have to believe

People will like me

 

(Now read from bottom to top.)


Grace Heinold is 12 years old and lives in Medford Lakes, NJ with her family.  In her spare time she loves practicing gymnastics and cuddling her two dogs. Currently, she is a Girl Scout Cadette and is working on her Silver Award, which is focused on helping shelter dogs in need. She is also utterly obsessed with Duck Donuts. In her free time, she loves to bike around town with her friends.   

I’ll make a deal with you

I’ll make a deal with you
By Grace Polito

I came to show

Not to the ones who know

But to the ones who need

A bit of a deed

Done in their favor

Like I’m their savior

 

What is it, you may ask

Oh, just a small task

I will help you out

And, no doubt

It will aid you

A lifetime breakthru

 

My deeds come with a small price

If you misjudge, I’ll roll the dice

And trust me, you young lad

They won’t be your comrade

 

It is all a package deal

Wrapped up and with a seal

I will spill the contents

And Grace now presents:

 

Buy one get one deed for free

The insides you may not see

But trust me they will impact

Your living in your dream act

 

One day will come

Do not run

I know what’s too little

And I know what’s too brittle

 

A spark will overcome your body

Side effects, your thoughts become shoddy

But when you wake up from your trance

This will be your final chance

Undo the misdoings you have done

Finally you will have won

 

Just remember what I said

There will be no, “you plead”

That small price

Would be your demise


Grace Polito lives with her mom, dad, and little brother in Center City Philadelphia. Life is hectic in the city, but Grace still finds time to draw, write and read. She is in the seventh grade at the Julia Reynolds Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School.

The Sun Came Out

The Sun Came Out

By Said Ibrahim

The sun came out and

Rooster crowed usually

Chilly Wednesday


Said Ibrahim is a fifth-grader at Mighty Writers West.

Picture ‘Perfect’ Land

Picture ‘Perfect’ Land

By Cate Haines

 

I board the plane with rocks in my chest

Which I’m surprised the metal detector didn’t sense

But my mom says everything will be just fine

Because way too soon we’ll cross the borderline

 

We’ll be leaving behind the people I need

To go to a picture ‘perfect’ land that I’ve never seen

Aside from the pictures and films on TV

Where the only moral seems that everyone’s free

 

The sadness and loneliness has filled up my aura

As I feel my family just wants to leave behind that era

When we’re where we fit in and with the people to which we belong

As if they haven’t tried enough to tell us that leaving our homeland would be wrong

 

And the ghosts will never leave me

Of the friendships that will be left across the sea

And my mom tells me as she grabs more tissues

“We’re gonna make a new life and leave our ‘outdated issues’”


Cate Haines has been writing poetry for about a year, and loves musical arts and hanging out with her friends.

Leaving

Leaving

By Alexandra Will
Crashing waves, groaning wood

Gaunt faces searching for shore

Home is no longer home

Invaders, marauders, have taken everything

Except our memories

Of rolling green hills and endless blue skies

Desperate, fleeing, exhausted

Hunger gnaws at our bones

Eating us from the inside out

Father is just across the sea

Pray for us

On this rickety ship

Looking for America-

A better life

A safer place

A familiar face

To tide us through

I know it’s close

Only an ocean away


Alexandra Will is in seventh grade and loves to read.  She additionally enjoys playing soccer, and lives with her parents and three brothers in Ambler, PA.  When she was younger, Alexandra spent a year living in Guam with her family for her father’s business trip.